Meum Regem Nescio
by scriptrixlatinae
Summary: Once again, Sarah stands at a crossroads in her life and calls upon the Goblin King for his aid. This time, however, it is not Sarah who must surpass all odds—it is Jareth, once her nemesis, but now...who knows?
1. Chapter I

Author's Note: This is an idea which has been rattling around in the odd corners of my mind for a few weeks, and I finally got the chance to get it out. When I started writing it, I wasn't quite sure which direction it'd take (and I'm still not entirely sure; my muses like to surprise me) and had no clue, for example, about Sarah's little revelation at the end of the chapter. In any case, this'll be a deeper exploration into the characters' minds—and Sarah's in particular—than I usually do. (Consider this Sarah-dominant, whereas _Patience_ is Jareth-dominant.) The title is in Latin; the translation is immediately below it. The parentheses are because I'm obsessive and meticulous about including the different meanings of the words; both are accurate translations of _nescio_.

And you know, I _promised_ myself that I wouldn't start another chapter story until after I finished _Patience Is Not A Virtue_. So much for that idea.

To my readers of _Patience Is Not A Virtue_: Yes, I know. It's been two weeks, and there's no new chapter of Patience out for you. I'm sorry; my muses are being uncooperative and I started my summer job this week. (And despite it being a "summer" job, I'm basically working full-time. For my first week, I got to help move the office. Next week, I get to _unpack_ the office. Lots of fun.) Consider this a peace offering...and I have another one (but for a different fandom—_Repo! The Genetic Opera_) up also. I personally think the _Repo_ story is written better than this one, and I actually know where I'm going with that one, so it might be the next story I update. (That wasn't a hint for you to go read it _AT ALL_...)

Disclaimer: I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any other published work which I may quote or reference. This work is purely for the enjoyment of myself and others, not monetary gain.

_MEUM REGEM NESCIO  
I do not know (I am ignorant of) my king._

"I wish that the Goblin King would come and speak with me. Right now."

Sarah held herself strictly poised, back ramrod straight, until she heard the wind outside pick up, shrieking suddenly at a disturbance no mortal senses could detect. When the crack of thunder doused the lights, leaving the room illuminated only by the intermittent flashes of lightning, she took a deep, careful breath.

In the next instant, her knees buckled beneath her and she dropped onto the couch, letting her head fall against the backrest. When the dark, imposing figure stepped into her living room, she merely tilted her head and gazed at him, examining him for the first time in over a decade.

Still tall and lean, he had eschewed his armor in favor of tight black leggings and an open-necked, black poet's shirt held almost closed with a black vest. His knee-high, high-heeled boots were, she was unsurprised to see, also black.

It seemed to be a theme with him. Was he in mourning?

Her eyes traveled wistfully back up the length of his body, noting the carefully rigid stance that he held himself in, the way he had cocked one hip slightly in a show of arrogance. She almost smiled at the familiar gesture, as though she had seen it every day of her life.

When she reached his face, though, his cold eyes pierced hers, and she lost herself in them unintentionally, unable to look away.

"Jareth."

The name slipped from between slightly parted lips, half prayer, half heartfelt plea.

He blinked once, slowly, and took three leisurely strides to the edge of the couch, standing over her with his cold, untouchable mask still lowered over his features. "Yes?" he asked quietly, his voice inflectionless.

She reached up and slowly threaded her fingers through his, never breaking her gaze from his. He could have pulled away, could easily have shaken her off and disappeared, but for some reason, he let her tug on his arm until he settled onto the wide couch across from her.

"I need to know something, Jareth," she whispered, almost too softly to be audible. Her fingers were still laced through his, the pads of her fingers tracing aimless patterns on the leather gloves. He silently raised an eyebrow, and a faint pink glow rose in her cheeks.

"I...I need to know..." She seemed to quail at the thought of confessing her insecurities to his silent, brooding monarch, and her eyes had already dropped to their entwined hands. After a long moment, she rose silently and walked to the fireplace, where she took something from a small box on the mantelpiece.

When she sat back down, she gazed at her closed fist, then took a deep, shaky breath and lifted the small object between pinched forefinger and thumb.

"Do you know what this is?"

It was small and delicate, beautiful in its fragile way; a slender gold band in which nestled a clear, shining gemstone.

His expression, carefully neutral and detached until then, slipped enough for her to see the black rage and naked possessiveness that now darkened his eyes.

"He left yesterday for two weeks," Sarah told him quickly, forestalling anything that he might say or do, "and I told him that I would give him an answer when he returned."

She lifted her eyes from the small ring and gazed deep into his eyes, not bothering to cover her emotions. "There are thirteen days before I must decide my path...forever." She closed her eyes and took a third shaky breath. When she opened her eyes, she spoke the words that she had meant, and failed, to speak earlier.

"I need to know if there is—if there could be—anything between us."


	2. Chapter II

Author's Note: This is completely impressionistic and unscripted. I warn you now because even I don't know where it's going, or how those two will react later on. I'm trying very hard to keep them from fighting, to preserve the mood I started with, but...my muses can be unpredictable. And I have no idea what to do with the next chapter, so this will probably be the only update you get for a while. (Especially since I have finals starting in two weeks.)

Disclaimer: I do not own _Labyrinth_ or any other published work which I may quote or reference. This work is purely for the enjoyment of myself and others, not monetary gain.

_MEUM REGEM NESCIO  
I do not know (I am ignorant of) my king._

"You assume a great deal."

He had been silent for several long, tense moments before speaking, but the image of his dark expression—now masked, his aloof pose firmly back in place—haunted her.

"Do I?" Sarah asked quietly. "You came..."

The Goblin King's gaze was unrelenting, and she finally had to look away, dropping the small engagement ring into her skirt, letting it disappear into the voluminous folds of the fabric.

_Out of sight, out of mind..._

"I was _called_," he grated harshly. "You have no idea of the forces that you meddle with, _mortal child_." He saw her tense at the implicit insult, expected her to flare up in her own defense, but when she raised her chin with quiet dignity and spoke, it wasn't in the self-righteous tones he expected.

"You are right," Sarah agreed confidently, her sudden, unshakable poise almost making _him_ feel at fault. "I don't understand. I'm not sure that I was ever able to, as I never saw any of the Labyrinth's citizens after that night."

_And yet you remembered enough to call me_, he noted silently.

"And yet, even without any reminders, I could never forget you," she confessed softly, echoing his own thoughts eerily. "Even now, all these years later, the memory of you haunts me enough that I can't settle into another relationship without wondering—what could have happened? What could we have been?"

She had laid the words between them, quiet and undeniably heart-felt, and now waited for his reaction.

"...what could a mortal possibly have that I would want, to tempt me to play her little _game?_" he asked scornfully, and she knew she had won. He had taken just _slightly_ too long to answer to be completely unmoved.

Sarah smiled softly, understandingly, letting him know that she had seen through his defensiveness. "Adventure, romance, excitement. An escape from the norm, and perhaps..." She paused her smile turning inward—wistful, more reminiscent. "An entire world of possibilities, with no knowing how it will end. All the things that you offered to me, when I was so young and foolish as to wish away Toby."

Jareth snorted and left the couch, rising to stand with his back to her. "And why should I listen to you, if you were heartless enough to abandon your own brother?" he scoffed.

"But I didn't abandon him."

Sarah rose to stand behind him, stroking one of his long strands of platinum hair from shoulder to back before curving her arms around him. Her boyfriend's ring dropped silently from her skirt onto the carpet, forgotten.

"I always fought to get him back, didn't I?" she asked, resting her cheek on the back of his shoulder. "Even when you tempted me, even when I wanted so much to know what it was you offered, I couldn't forsake him. Not when it was my fault in the first place."

Jareth remained unmoving in her arms.

Sarah didn't sigh, didn't lose hope, but she knew she still had to reach him somehow.

"When I ran your Labyrinth, Jareth, I was young and foolish, but I still knew that getting Toby back was my first goal—my only goal, truly. Whatever I did, it was ultimately to save my baby brother. But today—now—isn't about him; it's only about you and I."

She paused for a moment before continuing as if thinking to herself. "I'm not asking for forever, Jareth, or even for a promise. All I want is another chance."

Jareth snorted quietly. "Always, you have some excuse, someone to put over me. What will happen in two weeks, if you still don't have an answer? Will you running back to your _beau_ and tell him that you want him then?" he asked, dangerously calm.

"No. I would tell him that I didn't know what I feel, and that I can't accept his ring until I do," Sarah replied calmly, refusing to rise to his bait.

"Words," he scorned.

"You were the one who taught me their importance," she reminded him gently. When he was still tense, she laid her head on the back of his shoulder and begged him softly, "Please, Jareth. Just give me a second chance."

She could feel him go suddenly still, and then—

He pulled her arms away from his waist and stepped away, turning to face her. He didn't seem to notice that he still held her wrists between them, almost gingerly.

"No. No second chances. This is your _only_ chance," he decreed, just before disappearing from her living room.


End file.
